Sarah Self-Walbrick

ThursdayJan30,2020at5:42PM

A collection of sketches that offer insight into artist Terry Allens creative process was recently installed in the first and second-floor art gallery in the Texas Tech University System Administration building.

"The Artwork of Terry Allen" will be on display to the public through Aug. 12 at 1508 Knoxville Ave.

The collection hangs in lobby areas that can be accessed during normal business hours.

The artwork was chosen from the larger Allen Collection, housed at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. The living collection of Terry and Jo Harvey Allens work includes over 200 workbooks, photographs, correspondence, scripts and audio-visual material produced by the couple in their decades of making art. The collection was acquired last year and the Allens will add to it as they continue to make art.

The displayed art includes conceptual sketches of some of Allens sculpture work that can be found throughout the country. The workbook designs show not just the sculpture, but notes about the meaning behind the artwork.

In a sketch for the project Notre Denver - two cast bronze gargoyles sitting in handheld suitcases that can be found in a baggage claim area at Denver International Airport - Allen works through specifics of one of the pieces, but also ponders that "a cathedral is kind of a baggage claim (in a higher sense of course)."

Katelin Dixon, special projects curator at the Southwest Collection, said the selections in this gallery are just a small sample of what the larger collection shows about art concept development.

Allen, who grew up in Lubbock, is a singer-songwriter and multidisciplinary artist. Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band released an album, "Just Like Moby Dick," in January.

Link:
Terry Allen artwork on display at Texas Tech University System office - LubbockOnline.com

PUBLISHED: 13:05 28 January 2020 | UPDATED: 13:16 28 January 2020

Scaffolding is in place around King's Lynn Corn Exchange, where a cinema is being installed Picture: Chris Bishop

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West Norfolk council, which owns the venue, wants to replace a first floor foyer and bar area with two 50-seat cinema screens.

The glazed roof is being replaced with acoustically sealed zinc panels. Repairs are being made to the Grade II listed stonework faade, gutters and flashings.

A new floor will be put in the main foyer, with cladding of the box office and bar counters. The ground floor toilets will be refurbished, with additional female toilets.

A cinema box office and concessions kiosk will be created. A new staircase and lift will lead to the cinema foyer on the first floor. A two-screen digital cinema will be built in the currently under-used space in the upper foyer and front balcony. Screen one will have 58 seats and screen two will seat 52 people, with wheelchair provision for both screens.

Officials expect the cinema will bring in 200,000 a year after it opens this summer.

There will be special screenings for parent and babies, parent and toddlers, 'silver screenings' for the over-60s and family screenings at the weekend.

Elizabeth Nockolds, the council's cabinet member for culturemand heritage, said: "Following the most successful panto run ever, over 22 thousand people came and enjoyed the show, this is the perfect time to start this work.

"The Alive Corn Exchange will have a bright new look and the cinema will bring more people in to King's Lynn who will hopefully stay for longer. This is a golden opportunity for the town."

The Grade II Listed Corn Exchange was originaly built on the Tuesday Market Place in 1854.

In the mid-1990s, it was given a 4.4m refurb which included a rear extension.

The first events after it reopens include Neil Diamond tribute act Sweet Caroline on Thursday, March 5, a Tina Turner tribute on Saturday, March 7 and an evening with Jim Davidson on Thursday, March 12.

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When will King's Lynn Corn Exchange reopen? What work is being done? | Latest Norfolk and Suffolk News - Eastern Daily Press

January 27, 2020

Wind and snow whipping across fjords. A flood of water crashing down from a waterfall surrounded by moss and lush greenery. A van parked precariously on a roadside in the middle of a blinding snowstorm. The steam from hot springs evaporating into the icy air. Boots crunching and scraping along the ice on a black sand beach. A fishing boat navigating ice floes as it chugs into harbour. This is Iceland. In our minds, we can picture how these scenarios might look, but how do they sound?

The Desautels Faculty of Musics composition masters students and the University of Manitobas Faculty of Architecture graduate studio class set out to discover the answer during their trip to Iceland in October 2019, where they recorded the sounds of Iceland. Their findings have taken the form of an interactive installation, s, which will run from January 29th through February 5th in the UM School of Arts Student Gallery on the first floor of the Tach Arts Complex.

Sound and architecture

The trip was coordinated by rjan Sandred, a professor of composition in the Desautels Faculty of Music, and Herbert Enns, a professor of architecture, who wanted to connect their students through topics that touch on both music and architecture. The relationship between the two disciplines is a natural one, though it might not be obvious to those of us on the outside.

Many composers have actively explored the relationship between architecture and music an obvious example being Iannis Xenakis, who was both a composer and an architect, says Sandred.

All music is dependent on room acoustics, and in electroacoustic music the acoustics sound spatialization through loudspeaker systems and the interaction with spaces is a central topic just as a brief example of how we connect, he adds.

Music and architecture go hand-in-hand, and there are many overlaps between the two agrees Jonathan Bailes, a master of architecture student who went on the trip.

Architecture and sound inspire one another, and the trip was an exciting collaboration in that sense, because we were able to share our specific interests during the travels, he says.

[The trip] was an opportunity to do something outside of a traditionally musical context, says Ross Bugden, a fourth-year undergraduate composition student who went on the trip.

In universities, music tends to be centered around European-classical instrumentation and notational practices, so developing an interactive installation based on field recordings let me think about the organization in a whole new way, he says.

Aside from collecting sounds, making acoustic measurements, and explorations of generating sounds by interacting with the environment, the students were able to amplify each others creativity, and build on ideas outside of their respective disciplines.

It was a nice opportunity to meet and get to know people from another program in the university, something that doesnt happen very often, says Lucas Druet, a master of architecture student on the trip.

It has been great getting to see and learn from the creativity, passion, and talent of the music students, he adds.

Traveling through sound, and recording in harsh climates

Much of the trip took place in northwestern Iceland in the Westfjords, a peninsular region known for its craggy fjords, steep hills, black sand beaches, and its impassibility and isolation during the winter months.

Theres no way to really prepare yourself for how barren it is, says Bugden.

In places like Manitoba, we take the omnipresence of life for granted. In Iceland, there are places where almost nothing lives or grows. Its just naked earth and water, he adds.

Its kind of unsettling and beautiful at the same time.

The recording sites for the trip were not planned in advance, and the day unfolded according to the discoveries the students made.

In preparation for the trip, the composition students bought a hydrophone, an underwater microphone that they used in Icelands many watery environments.

We threw it into every body of water we could find. It got nipped by ducks a few times, says Bugden.

Anticipating the wind and harsh environs, composition masters student Jesse Krause made windscreens for the microphones.

It saved our recordings a number of times. One of us often had the job of standing between the mic and the wind, taking the brunt of the cold with our bodies, notes Bugden. Those experiences at least prepared them for another moment during the trip, when all of the students took a dip in a hot spring pool, and then ran into the ocean.

It felt a bit like jumping into a pool of needles, but it was a really fun moment, admits Bugden.

Among the sounds we explored were the violent torrent of wind and snow as you step out of the quiet, still air of the van; the sublime descent into cramped, humid, and very quiet caves; the hum of a motor and creaks of the van; and the gentle but active daily life of the Reykjavik Harbour, Druet says.

You can definitely guess what a place will sound like by looking at it, but you cant be sure until you go there and listen, says Bugden.

The moments when a space contradicts your expectations are really rewarding, he says.

While traveling from place to place, their Icelandic driver Gunnar Gudjonsson would jump out of the van to scout potential recording locations. At one point, in Snfellsjkull, Gudjonsson exited the van, only to disappear into a hole next to the road.

He emerged after a somewhat concerning five minutes and told us to follow him, says Bugden.

The hole turned out to be a volcanic tube. Also known as lava chutes, these long, cave-like geographic features are formed as a large amount of lava flows from a volcano during eruption. The lava at the surface of the flow hardens in the comparatively cool air, and eventually leaves a hollowed out, underground passage.

We walked deeper and deeper underground for a long time, then stopped and turned off our headlamps, says Bugden.

It was completely black and silent. In a trip saturated with music and light, this moment stands out in my memory, he says.

Some of the recordings the students made were sadly archival in their purpose: the sound of glaciers melting.

Okjkull was a 700-year old Icelandic glacier that was declared dead in 2014 by Oddur Sigursson, a glaciologist with the Icelandic Meterological Office. It was the first glacier in Iceland to succumb to the effects of global warming. Icelandic climate experts estimate that without substantive worldwide efforts to reduce carbon emissions, all of Icelands glaciers will become extinct in the next 200 years. The students recordings of these glaciers death rattles may end up being the only thing thats left of them, and will be featured heavily in the installation.

A trip turned installation

The resulting installation, s Icelandic for ice opens on January 29th at 12:30pm with a reception and a brief talk about the trip. It is evocative of the students experiences, and immerses visitors in a place to which they may never travel or feel connected to, otherwise.

The installation speaks to the environmental effect from human impact on nature. The gallery space will be an immersive sensory experience that takes the viewer through a state of change ice into water, Bailes says.

Its broken up into the zones in the gallery space. The first zone is ice, the second is slush, and the third is water. As a person journeys through the course of the pathways, contact mics will trigger sounds that were taken from our trip. Fabric curtains will guide the viewers along the pathways and our video recordings will project onto these surfaces throughout the space, he explains.

We modeled the installation on a process of melting pushed to surreal extremes, says Bugden.

This process unfolds as a response to the motion of the individual through the space. The installation highlights the disruptive tendencies of human presence in an environment. Were hoping to push people into a state of heightened physical awareness, he says.

You can experience s beginning January 29th at 12:30pm in the UM School of Arts Student Gallery on the first floor of the Tach Arts Complex, 150 Dafoe Road. Light refreshments will be served at the reception. The public is welcome to attend the reception and exhibit. A short video documenting the trip can be found HERE.

Sarah Boumphrey

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Desautels Faculty of Music | The acoustics of Iceland - UM Today

The Interior Design Show (IDS20), Canadas largest design conference, took place in Toronto from January 16-19at theMetro Toronto Convention Centre. For only the second time inits 22nd year, theB2B trade-only expositionIDS Contract was featured. The theme this yearwas Design Your Future,whichwill explore how designers create experiences at the intersection of technological and social problems, imagining new roads to alternative realities, notesKaren Kang, National Director of IDS Canada.Here are nine highlights at IDS 2020.

1. Biscuit by Ceragres

Montreal-based Ceragres debuted Biscuit, six opaque, geometric, three-dimensional ceramic surfaces (in 2"x8" format) that are brought to life by light and shadow and are available in white, terra, notte, and salvia.

2. Ztistaby Victoriya Yakusha for Faina

Constructed from recycled metal, cellulose, wood chips, and clay, the Ztista line by Ukrainian designer Victoria Yakusha for Faina made its Canadian debut at IDS 2020withan organic chair and coffee table hand-crafted using century-old primitive rolling technique.

3. Junction Light by Hollis+Morris

Toronto-based Hollis+Morris introduced the Junction lightshown here in a floor lamp version but also available in a table stylewhich features "railways of light" to createa glowing canopy. Junction is handmade in North America and available in solid walnut (shown here) or white oak.

4. Kastella's Cove Collection

The Cove Collection by Kastella is a series of functional, understatedsolid wood piecesdining table, chair, andbenchdesigned by the Montreal-based company's founder Jason Burhop and available in American Black Walnut and American White Oak.

5. Monogram x Partisans

Ultra-luxury appliance brand Monogram collaborated with Toronto-based architectural design studio Partisans to create an interactive, all-glass kitchen installation at IDS 2020.

6. Mono Chair by Objects & Ideas

Inspired by a summer air showwith the airplane creating a single twisting and turning outline through the airthe new Mono collection by Toronto-based Objects &Ideasdebuted at IDS 2020 and features a chair (shown here) and table. The collection is available in solid, sustainably sourced woodand is crafted using traditional woodworking techniques.

7. Rituel by Pur Bton

Canadian manufacturer Pur Bton has made a name for itself with its artisanal concrete basins, whose raw, handmade forms come in myriad hues.

8.Fuwa Fuwa Series by WooYoo

A side table-console duos corrugated plastic sides pair neatly with solid oak surfaces, establishing what the Japan-trained studios design director Edward WooHyun dubs a state of calm attentiveness.

9.Ball On Plank light by Lauren Reed

Toronto up-and-comer Lauren Reeds furnishings and objets are decidedly whimsical, and her latest, a wooden plank sporting a frosted-glass lightbulb, is no exception.

Read more: 15 New Product Highlights from IMM 2020

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Product and Installation Highlights at IDS 2020 in Toronto - Interior Design

Hudson, N.Y. | $1.195 MillionA Greek Revival-style house built in 2005, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, on a 0.17-acre lot

Built on spec on vacant land in Hudsons first gated community (dating to the turn of the 20th century), this home is one of several stately houses in the area. It is the last building on its side of a blocklong street, less than five minutes on foot from Warren Street, the citys boutique- and restaurant-rich commercial stretch. An Amtrak train station is less than half a mile northwest, near the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Pennsylvania Station in New York City is two and a quarter hours south.

Size: 2,520 square feet

Price per square foot: $474

Indoors: The sellers, who are the second owners, bought the house in 2009 and made substantial changes. They installed central air-conditioning, opened the second-floor stairwell and landing (which required some structural engineering to remove a load-bearing wall) and updated the kitchen and bathrooms. They also replaced windows, added period-appropriate crown moldings and other millwork and wired several first-floor rooms for sound.

Crossing the colonnaded front porch, you enter a center hall with Brazilian cherry floors that leads past the staircase to the new kitchen. There, youll find Smallbone of Devizes hand-painted cabinetry and new appliances, most from Miele. The stovetop is a Lacanche Volnay four-burner that includes a cast-iron simmer plate with a wok ring.

The connected living and dining rooms have cherry floors, 12-foot ceilings and walls painted in a pale gray shade from Farrow & Ball. Each room has a fireplace (gas-burning in the living room, wood-burning in the dining room) with a black marble surround and mantel. The powder room was renovated with a paneled wainscot topped with Art Nouveau-style wallpaper.

Two second-floor bathrooms were combined to create the en suite master bathroom. Striated marble tile covers the walls, continuing into the walk-in shower. The guest bathroom has a shower-over-tub and a pedestal sink.

Outdoor space: French doors lead from the master bedroom and adjacent guest room to the upper front balcony. A rear entrance is approached by a brick walkway through a fenced garden. There is off-street parking for two cars.

Taxes: $17,878

Contact: Pamela Belfor, Gary DiMauro Real Estate, 917-734-7142; garydimauro.com

Offering treetop views in Woodland Hills, in the San Fernando Valley, this one-story stucco-clad house is close to the Ventura Freeway, which takes you southeast into Los Angeles (downtown is 26 miles away). The neighborhoods central business district is about two miles east, and the city of Calabasas, with a number of shopping and dining options, is just to the west. The 2.1-million-square-foot Westfield Topanga & Village mall, which has luxury stores and restaurants, is about three miles northeast. Hiking and biking trails wind around the almost 3,000 hilly acres of the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, less than four miles northwest.

Size: 2,029 square feet

Price per square foot: $591

Indoors: Entering a bright-red front door and skirting a walnut partition, you find an open-plan room with terrazzo floors, a vaulted ceiling and a rear wall of glass. The living room includes a gas-burning stone fireplace; the kitchen has walnut cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

The owner converted the original master bedroom into an office, and expanded beyond that to create a 500-square-foot master suite with floor-to-ceiling windows and polished concrete floors. A pair of new master bathrooms includes one with a slipper bathtub and another with a walk-in shower.

There are two additional bedrooms and a guest bathroom with retro aqua tile, double sinks and a separate shower and tub. The furniture is available to buy.

Outdoor space: A large covered patio with a grill area extends off the back of the house. The property is entirely fenced (an automated gate with a pedestrian door gives access) and is planted with Meyer lemon, guava and fig trees. Parking is in the attached two-car garage, with additional room for up to 10 cars in the spacious driveway.

Taxes: $14,988 (estimated)

Contact: Casey Napolitano, Kennedy Wilson Real Estate Sales & Marketing, 818-404-5090; kennedywilsonre.idxbroker.com

Before the singer Julio Iglesias Jr. bought this house eight years ago, it was renovated in a sailboat-cabin style, with efficiently designed wood-paneled rooms incorporating many built-ins. The house is in the Meadows neighborhood, in Old Town, five short blocks northwest of Bayview Park and less than a mile east of the historic seaport. The Ernest Hemingway house is about a mile southwest, and Higgs Beach is the same distance southeast. The Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea, with its Our Lady of Lourdes grotto, is about half a mile southwest. Lore has it that the nun who designed the grotto, which was dedicated 98 years ago, prophesied that Key West would never be devastated by a hurricane as long as the structure stood. So far, so good, but flood and wind insurance are still required for mortgage holders of this property.

Size: 1,424 square feet

Price per square foot: $842

Indoors: A paneled living and dining room with an open kitchen are part of the new addition. Glass double doors open from there to a covered porch overlooking the pool. The kitchen has custom Dade County pine cabinets and wood cladding, even on the refrigerator.

Self-contained guest quarters at the front include a bedroom with a loft sleeping area, an office niche, a bathroom, a kitchenette and a private entrance. There is also a bunk room with two sleeping berths off the kitchen.

A spiral staircase rises to a second small office on the landing, and the master suite. The suite includes a bedroom, a sitting room overlooking the pool and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and porcelain pedestal sink. A television positioned above a fireplace between the two main rooms swivels to face either.

The spiral stair continues to a rooftop observation deck, where Mr. Iglesias installed an outdoor shower, steam room and kitchenette.

Outdoor space: The property is entered through a gate set into a stone wall. There is a rocking-chair porch leading to the louvered front door, and tropical greenery surrounding the backyard swimming pool and hot tub. A structure to the side of the pool offers equipment storage and additional covered seating.

Taxes: $7,502 (based on a $700,174 tax assessment)

Contact: Elaine Coyle, Keller Williams Key West Compass Realty, 305-923-9202; compass.com

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

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$1.2 Million Homes in New York, California and Florida - The New York Times

In the lower level of the Crow Museum of Asian Art, beneath galleries of carved jade and precious lacquerware, Chinese-born, Austin-based artist Beili Liu has brought out the strength in a more delicate material: Thousands of yards of red thread coiled into a network of discs. This composes her site-specific installation Lure, a play on the Chinese legend of The Red Thread, which says that all children are born with an invisible tie to their soulmates.

Sometimes they have encounters, sometimes they have missed encounters, Liu says of the discs, which hang from the ceiling and sway to and fro with the air conditioning.

Lure/Dallas is one of two site-specific installations in Beili Liu: One and Another, the inaugural exhibition of the Crow Museums three-year Texas Asian Women Artists Series. For Lius first major exhibition in Dallas, the artist, UT Austin professor, and mother draws upon her Chinese heritage, and, more broadly, her experience as an immigrant woman.

Part of an ongoing series, Lure/Dallas does what its name implies, drawing the viewer in with a narrative that welcomes interpretation. Liu says the discs represent individuals, but shes heard them compared to poppies and blood cells. Some discs are paired, shaped from a single thread, a few are alone in masses; the connections droop to the floor, tangling, sometimes becoming obscured, sometimes drawing pairs closer.

Youll be thinking about these common threads as you move upstairs to the Mezzanine to see Lius second installation, Each and Every/Dallas, also part of an ongoing series. Here, the artist lays out a more pointed discussion of humanity. The room is filled with flattened pieces of childrens clothing, dipped in colorless cement and arranged in a rectangle hovering above the floor. Cement-coated threads hang from the ceiling like dull needles, stopping inches above the garments.

Its a deeply personal project for Liu, one that started with collecting her young daughters hand-me-downs without a specific purpose in mind. When the Trump administrations zero tolerance immigration policy was introduced, she decided to use those pieces, in addition to clothing donated at her daughters school and by fellow artist-parents, to speak out.

I thought the combination of cement, which is an industrial building material, and these tender, soft, small pieces of clothing that are to shelter our little babies bodies, is such a poignant and powerful combination. We have the harsh and the tender put together to talk about this situation that is really difficult to describethe impossibility of why this even happened, says Liu. I see them as being both preserved and destroyed at the same time, so they can no longer serve the purpose of protecting the bodies of the children. The scale is important, because we are talking about a large number of children who are still away from their families, who dont know where they are in the system. Theres this unknown sense of loss and suffering being visibleIts a project that I really needed to do as a mom, as an immigrant, and also as a woman artist.

The artist has also planned a performance in conjunction with the installation; She will return in March and sit in the back of the gallery, mending worn pieces of childrens clothing in an act of silent protest and meditation (dates and times TBA).

Liu carries this idea into her final piece at the Crow Museum, a flag commissioned by MAP (Make Art with Purpose), which is separate from, but directly related to, her exhibition. The work, titled Outline, is made from a cyanotype image of clothing seams. It hangs in the skyway of the Crow Museum, looking over Flora Street on one side and the Trammell Crow Center on the other, a tribute to the mothers who are still awaiting the return of their children.

Beili Liu: One and Another is on view at the Crow Museum of Asian Art through August 16, 2020. The museum is free and open to the public.

Originally posted here:
At the Crow's Celebration of Asian Texas Artists, a Common Thread for the Immigrant Experience - D Magazine

Sandy Gellis remodeled his State College condominium to be pleasing, purposeful and practical with the goal of living independently for another 20 years.

At 76, he jokes that the only thing he would do differently is add a second bathroom vanity sink for his new girlfriend. Gellis is among a growing trend of seniors who wish to age in place retain independent living in a private home by adding user-friendly features and retaining aesthetics.

According to AARP, older home owners overwhelmingly prefer to age in place, which means living in your home safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of age or ability level.

According to a 2017 HomeAdvisor report, 37 percent of homeowners reported having difficulties walking up stairs or reaching for cabinets as they age, and 41 percent said theyve experienced a trip or a fall. Thirty-six percent said they count on help to do everyday tasks at home. Nearly half of owners 75 and older responded that they had prepared for aging with home renovations, but 15 percent did so only after their physical needs made their dwellings unlivable.

Too often an inability to lift a foot over a traditional tub/shower combination forces a person into an assisted living, said Lou Mihalko, president of Mihalkos General Contracting. Each January for the past several years, he has noticed an uptick in inquiries from those who wish to add a first-floor bath or bedroom with common features, such as levered door handles, zero-entry showers and higher toilets.

Remodeling is a spectrum from user-friendly changes for an older resident to extensive renovations for wheelchair accessibility. Gellis renovations were more on the user-friendly side of the scale rather than full-accessibility modifications, according to Peter Toby Hood with Cisney & ODonnell.

For Gellis, the firm:

Created additional space in the toilet area and added a comfort-height seat.

Created more counter space, and a taller height vanity with more storage.

Eliminated a soaking tub and replaced an existing module shower unit with custom tile and a true zero-entry shower with a seat and a handheld shower.

Improved lighting.

Hood said Gellis space could be modified for full accessibility compliance in the future if necessary.

The glass shower doors could be replaced with a curtain and grab bars could be installed as the walls were fortified during the remodeling.

Hood went through specialized training with an emphasis on helping seniors plan ahead for changes that come with aging and is certified for aging in place services through the National Association of Home Builders/Remodelers. For people with low-vision or balance deficiencies, Hood said installation of contrasting floor and wall colors help people differentiate their position in a steam shower environment.

Tim Ellis, NAHBR chairman, said those contemplating a remodel need to design for future needs, he said. It goes beyond easier bathroom access and extends to kitchens, hallways and home entrances with the goal to make the home design the most versatile and easier to age-in-place while considering the customers desires. Are they looking to remodel an existing space, are they thinking of moving mom or dad into their home? What are moms future needs down the road? Do they want to plan for using a walker or wheelchair?

Remodeling to accommodate health and less mobility due to aging run the gamut in features and price points, local contractors said. A modest bathroom remodeling project costs an average of $15,000 to $25,000 and more homeowners are willing to make the investment in an effort to stay in their home within the neighborhood and community they enjoy.

We try to give people all their options, said Jason Leaper of J&J Remodeling/Multi-Service of Altoona.

Leaper and other contractors like Lou Kabello of Altoona confirmed a local, multi-year industry trend. Initially, a remodel project may spring from an aesthetic desire to refresh existing structures. Such was the case with Joi Cooney of Loretto who said shes wanted to update her A-frame home for years. At 62, Cooney said she wasnt prepared to fully address the accessibility issues Mihalkos suggested.

I had my heart set on a soaking tub the kind with jets, she explained. But she did concede to the placement of grab bars to ease her entry and exit from the tub. Her remodeled bedroom and ensuite bathroom is in the upstairs of her home.

However, when her mother, 86, scheduled knee surgery, accessibility at her mothers home became a priority.

Lou Mihalko, president of Mihalkos General Contractors, said most people think of stainless steel grab bars, but other changes can also reduce fall risks.

Most people dont prepare but wait until a health situation forces them into it, he said. People should pre-plan, but they dont.

Most older people run into accessibility problems in the bathroom, he said. The key to accessibility is planning ahead for the time when a leg cant be lifted over and into a bathtub.

Immediately after the holidays, Mihalko and other remodelers said they see a spike in requests for bathroom remodels.

Often kids from out of town visit over the holidays and become concerned about mom or dad or their aunt or uncles safety so they are the ones who start the discussion, he said.

Often it takes a fall or another medical issue to prompt a discussion about making accommodations. While a complete bathroom remodel tops the list, other more gradual changes can be helpful.

For instance, levers instead of round door handles make a big difference for people who struggle with arthritis in their hands or who lose the ability to grasp a door knob or a faucet due to a stroke.

Other helpful and modest changes include brighter lighting in hallways and sturdy handrails, Mihalko said.Both can be made to blend and enhance existing decor.

Accessibility concerns arent limited to home interiors, said Shawn Warner of Altoona, who owns a general contracting and landscaping business.

More and more, people want to eliminate exterior barriers, Shawn said, such as multiple entryway steps, and they want to increase accessibility to enjoy the outdoors.

In his 16-plus years in remodeling, Leaper said he has seen an increased desire among homeowners to remain in their home. Looking ahead during the design process can be less expensive in the long run both in actual construction and in avoiding assisted-living or nursing home costs.

Its so much cheaper to address issues during the design phase than after construction when you have to go back and re-do it, he said. Review doorway widths, transitions between thresholds and flooring materials.

Intergenerational living sees a resurgence

The hardest thing to admit is were getting old and we need help, Ellis said. Youre trying to balance that reality and see that mom needs help. Were seeing more families combine households. Its a lot cheaper than having someone come in and assist mom in her own house.

The trend toward intergenerational living is seen in the 65- to 75-year-old demographic, he said.

Sometimes parents move from their two-story colonial-style home into an added on one-level suite with their children and grandchildren.

It is becoming more common to see several generations living together in the same home. Some families do this for the benefit of sharing the cost of living expenses, and some families find this helpful when someone in the family needs care. Having the family members all in one household makes this situation easier, said Lisa Moyer, a supervisor with Blair Senior Services Long Term Living program. We are also seeing a great increase in the number of grandparents who are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

Like many other communities, Altoona has many older homes that are two-stories with a single bathroom on the second floor. Older homes with narrower doorways make accessibility for a person who uses a walker or wheelchair difficult.

If a permanent first floor bathroom cant be added, a portable commode may be a solution provided someone can take it up stairs for emptying. Another option could be a stair glide system to provide second-floor access.

Often, they cant make it upstairs easily to get to bed or out to the garage. Plus, the house is just too big to maintain, clean and keep up, Ellis said.

Ellis has seen a significant uptick in requests for mother-in-law suites where he lives in Harford County, Maryland.

We let (the homeowner) know that were not just designing to meet their mothers needs today, but also to address their own needs in the future. They are creating a future where the son and daughter can then age in place, he said.

This trend is fueled as families move less often and the cost of elder care rises.

Hes witnessed a son and daughter-in-law move back into the childhood home and live upstairs with an aging parent living on the first level.

While more expensive up front, the cost of building an addition is recouped within a few years especially compared to an average nursing home cost of $10,000 per month.

Municipalities are more willing to grant variances and assist in getting through the building permit process. They are getting on board.

Programs offered

Blair Senior Services Inc. offers a variety of services to assist people in remaining in their homes, according to Supervisor Lisa Moyer.

The OPTIONS program offers home delivered meals, personal care assistance (bathing, dressing and grooming), assistance with purchasing incontinence supplies and nutritional supplements, personal emergency response systems, and adult daily living program services, which assist with day-to-day tasks people may have trouble completing on their own.

The Caregiver Support Program can provide caregivers with reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses related to the care of their loved one, such as assistance with respite care and other costs that are not covered by some other programs, Moyer said. Limited reimbursement may be available for qualified home modifications and adaptive equipment not covered by insurance.

For grandparents raising their grandchildren, the Caregiver Support Program can offer reimbursement for some caregiving costs for the children, such as seasonal clothing, school supplies and extracurricular activities.

For individuals who do not qualify for other programs, or need assistance in addition to what those programs can provide, the CHOICES program may be able to assist.

CHOICES is a private-pay program which can provide respite care, personal care, financial management assistance, housekeeping, shopping, medication management and nursing services, as well as more comprehensive care management services to individuals who need it.

The CHOICES, Caregiver Support and OPTIONS programs can be used together to create a complete plan of care that can help the person remain in their home, Moyer said.

For individuals who require additional assistance, the Community Health Choices program may help medically and financially qualified people with multiple services which may help them remain in their homes. There are no costs to the consumer to participate in this program.

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Options abound to give seniors ability to age in place | News, Sports, Jobs - Altoona Mirror

The InstallerNet partnership will enable more mass-market reach and nationwide installation capabilities for Delos' DARWIN platform. (Photo courtesy Delos)

Pioneering home wellness company Delos maintains that the healthy home should not just be a privilege of luxury homeowners. So while the company has fostered relationships in the CEDIA channel over the past couple of years, it has also looked to expand its scale and potential customer base.

Toward that end, Delos has announced a partnership with InstallerNet, a nationwide provider of installation services for consumer technology, to service homeowners integrating Delos DARWIN Home Wellness Intelligence network.

The relationshipwithInstallerNet will help us scale and enable growth, bringing healthand well-being to more people in more places, says Delos CEO and founder PaulScialla.

As we expanddelivery of DARWIN from new homes and renovations to existing homes, we areconfident in InstallerNets experience managing installations at scale andtheir ability to provide enhanced service to our customers.

The company has made a splash with groups serving the customintegration industry such as HTSA during the organizations fall conferencelast year, for example, Delos chief commercial officer and head of residentialbusiness Anthony Antolino participated in a keynote panel on opportunities inwellness.

In the residential space, we believe as a guiding principle that improving peoples wellness is a right and not a privilege, so we have to be really careful about having products that accommodate all socioeconomic classes, Antolino told the HTSA dealers last fall. He noted at the time Delos had partnered with builders like KB Home to help roll out the platform on the national front.

The DARWIN Home Wellness Intelligence network is designed to enhance human health and well-being by monitoring, calibrating and responding to changing indoor environmental conditions, the company explains.It earned a CE Pro BEST Product Award in the wellness category in 2019.

EnlistingInstallerNet enables Delos to rapidly expand distribution and provideinstallation and support at scale, Delos says in the announcement.

InstallerNet will service the mass market for Delos andprovide certified technicians to deliver and install DARWIN, providing apersonalized orientation, ensuring the DARWIN elements are connected,registered andactivatedthrough the homes wireless network, according to the announcement.

Meanwhile, in terms of certification for custom integrators, HTSA and Delos partnered on intensive, single-day training courses in New York and Los Angeles offices last year and have had roughly two dozen dealers earn certification.

Wellness technologyis an emerging growth category and Delos is well-positioned to become theleader, states Tony Frangiosa, InstallerNets president and CEO.

Our verticallyintegrated platform technology will be used to simplify the process for homebuildersand their customers.

InstallerNet recently expanded its reach by partnering with distributor Capitol Sales with some mutually beneficial perks for both InstallerNet and Capitol dealers in terms of sales leads and technology offerings.

DARWIN is availablethrough volume production builders Antolino had noted last fall that Deloshad partnered with KB Home to help roll out the platform, for instance andDelos made the InstallerNet announcement as the company shows homebuilders itstechnology this week at the NAHB International Builders Show (IBS) in LasVegas.

It follows Delos buzzworthy booth and participation as host of the inaugural Wellness Pavilion at CEDIA Expo last September in Denver, Colo. Integrator attendees could escape the show floor into an environment that included a living plant wall, air purification system, circadian lighting, zero-gravity chair and guided meditation recordings.

At IBS, thecompany planned to showcase its wellness technologies and solutionsacross the residential space, with a team of experts running demos of DARWIN,the company said ahead of the show. Visitors can also explore and discuss thelatest research on the intersection of health and home environments, Delos saidof this weeks booth.

In addition to exhibiting, Delos also participated in theChowa Concept Home from builder Woodside Homes and Japan-based Sekisui House atIBS. As described by the exhibitors, Chowa is an ancient Japanese term thatrepresents the spirit of partnership and reflects life-balance, well-being,sustainable value, and connectedness to nature and will spotlight SekisuiHouses core value of love of humanity as a strategic platform for aninnovative home of the future.

Its a natural extension of Delos efforts to marry wellness and biophilia design with the builders and integrators who can bring the technology to homeowners.

I think as more and more innovation comes forward, more and more energy savings, more and more environmental sustainability comes forward wellness in the homebuilding arena is the next megatrend that homebuilders are focusing on, Antolino says in a video interview about Chowa.

Our participation in the Chowa house is a really good exclamationon that point, and I think thats a good takeaway for homeowners and homebuilders,largely.

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Delos Partners with InstallerNet to Expand Wellness Reach - CEPRO - CEPro

Sonia spent hours redoing her floor by hand (Picture: Caters News Agency)

Heres a DIY project that might not be to your personal taste, but is pretty impressive nonetheless.

Sonia Barton, 47, wanted to give her old kitchen a revamp after living in her home for 13 years.

She decided to get creative, spending hundreds of hours over the course of a year transforming the space piece by piece.

And the focal point of all that work is definitely the floor created with 5,000 miniature flower buttons, coins, and her cheating ex-husbands old record collection.

The childrens entertainer from Belper, Derbs, estimates she spent 2,500 on the dream project.

I love DIY and I love colour so it just evolved, Sonia said.

I originally wanted to do records on the floor when I was married but my husband at the time didnt like the idea so as soon as we split I decided to do it.

Its been a labour of love for me. I started it over a year ago and spent evenings and weekends working on it.

Sonia began the project in October 2018, after deciding to completely overhaul her kitchen by installing a new floor, worktops, drawers, kick-board, and architrave.

Sonia said: I bought myself a table saw and made the drawers myself from floorboards.

I made all the doors and drawers. I love vibrant colours so decided to paint the doors.

I spent ages looking at tiles and couldnt find any that I liked so I brought some plain white tiles. I then decoupaged them and then put resin on them.

The worktops were an ebay bargain which I was able to install with help from a friend.

For the floor, I bought the buttons and then added coins and records. I glued them on the floor and put a resin over them.

The buttons were the hardest part, they took hours and hours and hours and there are thousands of tiny flower buttons on the floor, all of them are different.

Some of them are my ex-husbands.

It amuses me, it makes me laugh every time I walk in the kitchen and see them.

Each section is bordered by small tiles because I didnt want to do it all in one go so I could still use my kitchen.

Sonia is overjoyed with the end result and says she feels happy every time she enters her kitchen.

Her friends and family are big fans, too.

Most of my friends have seen it as its been coming along, Sonia said.

Some people have seen photos of it and have said its a bit mad but theyve said it works when theyve come in and seen it. Its bonkers and it reflects me.

Its a hard-wearing kitchen so it should last forever.

I feel happy just being in it. Stepping inside brings a smile to my face no matter how Im feeling.

It uplifts your soul.

Do you have a DIY project you fancy showing off? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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Mum turns 'cheating' ex-husband's record collection into her new floor - Metro.co.uk

AMPFIELD

20/00093/FULLS & 20/00094/LBWS Erection of single-storey rear extension to provide extended living accommodation; change roof type of existing single-storey rear extension to match proposed extension and provision of vaulted roof over proposed Kitchen/Dining Room (Amended scheme) - Kingfisher House , Knapp Lane, Ampfield

BRAISHFIELD

20/00096/TREES Hornbeam (T1)- Removal due to Basal decay, evidence of Honey Fungus present. - The Close, Church Lane

20/00140/TREES S1 - Laurel - Remove - Orchard Hill, Braishfield Road

BROUGHTON

20/00055/FULLS Erection of manager's dwelling with stabling and garaging, construction of stable, hay barn, and siting of horse walker, formation of yard and loading bay, siting of temporary mobile home for equestrian worker, installation of package sewage treatment plants, formation of private ways and re-surfacing of existing tracks, restoration of farmland with associated landscaping and biodiversity enhancements - Trickledown Estate, Horsebridge Road

CHILWORTH

20/00111/VARS Remove condition 4 of 16/00156/FULLS (Demolition of existing garage and out buildings; erection of first floor rear, two storey and single storey side and single storey front porch extensions to provide additional living areas with bedrooms and balcony above; creation of basement with pool below the front garden and erection of detached garage) regarding the installation of frosted glass screens to balcony on rear of property and vary condition 5 to substitute approved drawings to allow alterations to the roof windows - Windy Ridge, Chilworth Old Village

LOCKERLEY

19/03074/FULLS Erection of 2 No. prefabricated bin stores with associated hard standings and dropped kerbs - 35-44 & 9-14 Butlers Close

20/00027/FULLS Alterations to existing car parking and installation of Golpla matting, installation of timber bollards to perimeter of green, and installation of 2 vehicle gates - The Green, Butts Green

MICHELMERSH AND TIMSBURY

20/00106/TPOS T 355, T353, T351, T349, T348, T347, T337, T401, T454, T334, T319, T318, T301 (Tagged numbers) Poplars - Reduce by up to 10 metres.T343 Poplar - fell and replace with standard fastigiate Oak or other species specified by TVBC. - Woodland to the south west of 1 Casbrook Field, Upper Timsbury, Romsey

MOTTISFONT

20/00134/TREES Fell 9 Ash trees - Mottisfont Abbey, Mottisfont Village Road

NORTH BADDESLEY

20/00118/FULLS Single storey side extension to provide open plan kitchen/diner and larger living room - 19 Woodside Road

20/00124/FULLS Use of land as a single gypsy pitch for a temporary period of 3 years with new access from Bracken Road - Land at junction of Rownhams Lane, Bracken Road

NURSLING AND ROWNHAMS

20/00054/FULLS Single storey rear extension to provide dining room - 18 Hurricane Drive, Rownhams

20/00059/VARS Variation of condition 2 (approved plans) of 17/01322/FULLS (Ground floor rear extension; loft conversion with new front dormer and raise ridge height of roof ) to replace drawing 04 B with drawing 04 C, and 05 with 05 A to allow for change in windows - 129 Upton Crescent, Nursling, Southampton

20/00068/FULLS Erection of single and two storey rear extension to provide additional living space with enlarged bedroom above - 3 Colts Road, Rownhams, Southampton

ROMSEY EXTRA

20/00120/CLPS Certificate of proposed lawful development for a single storey rear extension - 14 Tarver Close, Romsey

20/00142/VARS Vary Condition 3 of 19/00373/RESS (Approval of details for appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of 73 dwellings pursuant to outline planning permission 17/02183/OUTS) to substitute landscape drawings in order to accommodate mitigation planting along part of the eastern site boundary - Land west of Baroona, Cupernham Lane, Romsey

ROMSEY TOWN

19/02934/FULLS Change of use from professional services (A2) to food and drink use (A3) - 14-14a, Market Place, Romsey

20/00090/TPOS T1 Horse Chestnut - whole crown reduction upto 4m - 4 Elm Place, Winchester Road, Romsey

20/00114/CLPS Certificate of proposed lawful development for the erection of a 1m high fence on land adjacent 1 Pinewood Close - 1 Pinewood Close, Romsey

20/00121/FULLS Single storey rear extension to provide enlarged kitchen - 90 Winchester Road, Romsey

20/00143/TREES Catalpa (T1) - To reduce as close to ground level as possible - 5 Station Road, Romsey, SO51 8DP

VALLEY PARK

20/00101/TPOS T1 - Oak - reduce lowest limbs by up to 1-2m on eastern side to re balance crown. - 2 Pennard Way, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh

20/00107/FULLS Extension and conversion of garage to form ancillary accommodation - 1 Hemlock Way, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh

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Planning applications in Romsey and Test Valley - Romsey Advertiser